Friday, June 28, 2013

What a Supreme Court victory says about us.

That societal norms in the United States are so backward as
to allow a government to tell a woman
what she can do with her body while in the same breath proclaiming individual
liberty is laughable. That we have legislative
debate on the proper parties to a committed relationship is embarrassing.

That it's official state policy to condemn other cultures
for similar beliefs is nothing short of hypocritical. Is it any wonder then that the United States
is so hated. "Do as I say not as I
do" has never been good policy. We
need to lead more by example than sound bite.

I've had a sort of epiphany lately or perhaps just more able
to express what I see.

I've always been very open minded but admit that when it
comes to topics dear to the Rainbow coalition I've been a bit annoyed by their
medium.

I find it distasteful for an entire community to define
itself by whom it chooses to share their intimate moments with. I could care less what gender you find arousing
to be honest. As a straight man I've
resigned myself to additional criteria before approaching an interesting member
of the opposite sex. That being,
"You like guys, right?"

I'm the first to admit that I wouldn't be caught dead
marching in a parade with a banner reading, "We're here, we're NOT queer,
get used to it."

So much for the "You don't see me marching in any heterosexual parades" argument.

But I get it now...

Polite society is so caught up in advancing its imperfect
vision of normality that you literally have to be outrageous just to be
heard.

It's not just the concerns of the LGBT community either,
it's a concern for the rest of us too.
To disenfranchise anyone contrary to our better selves diminishes us
all.

Look, if you believe that a loving couple of the same sex is
going to bring down civilization any more than the sexual escapades of your
favorite televangelist you're just not being honest with yourself.

Please don't hold up biblical references as proof
either. The text has been corrupted by
human ambition for eons and if we really chose to take it as literally as some
would have you believe, we'd all be hanging from crosses on some Roman hill.

Our greatest cultural influences, providing us with the
foundations for our literature, government and conduct didn't concern
themselves with the specifics of our most carnal nature. Shakespeare's most impassioned sonnets
were focused on a young man. Roman
culture didn't even bother to subdivide acceptable physical relationships based on gender
but rather on acceptable conduct.

It's not that I advocate anarchy or debauchery, I'm just
tired of humanity spending more time on their genitalia than advancing the
species. By the way, the act of
procreation isn't enough to advance the species. If it were cats and rabbits would be ruling
the world from their flying cities.

Even as a straight man, the fact that I choose not to
prioritize procreation above all other pursuits can have a debilitating effect
on my societal position. I've never been
an advocate for doing anything for its own sake and the traditional family
construct is one of those tenets for me.

The concept is simple if not self-evident. If you don't endeavor to improve the world
you walk through then what chance can your offspring have?

The simple state of being is not enough to correct the
inadequacies of a narrow minded progenitor.
I see far too many lost souls imprisoned by the limitations of their
procreators. For the few that escape, freedom comes only after unbearable pain and
isolation.

For the others, the "normal" ones, the same
disdain and disrespect handed down from parent to child only advances an imperfect world view through yet
another generation .

And humanity stands still.

Until we can rise above concerns of our lowest desires
humanity will never reach its full promise.
Love, sex and relationships regardless of the participant's gender should be as accepted as
breathing but they're not.

That's why this week's legal victory is so critical yet so
reflective of our own immaturity.